Oregon
Abiqua Falls is for sale. Who can buy it and will it stay public?
What to know about Abiqua Falls in Oregon
Abiqua Falls, a 92-foot cascade and the surrounding 40-acre property, is up for sale.
How do you determine a price for one of Oregon’s most spectacular natural wonders?
We’re about to find out.
Abiqua Falls, a stunning and frequently visited waterfall outside Scotts Mills, is up for sale in what may be an unprecedented situation.
In a state where the vast majority of scenic places are on public lands, the sale of a 92-foot waterfall that roars into an amphitheater of basalt is unheard of.
“I couldn’t find anything similar to this situation, at least of this magnitude,” said Lisa Johnson, the managing principal broker for Horsepower Real Estate, one of the two companies working on the sale.
The waterfall is on 40 acres that have been owned by Mount Angel Abbey, and more recently the Abbey Foundation of Oregon, since 1908. Public access has long been allowed, even as the waterfall’s popularity skyrocketed as pictures of it spread across social media.
“We’ve been very proud to oversee (Abiqua Falls) for such a long period of time. It’s such a lovely place and so many people have had incredible experiences there,” said Amanda Staggenborg, spokeswoman for Mount Angel Abbey & Seminary.
Staggenborg said the Abbey Foundation has been in talks to sell or trade the land for at least a decade, including with the Bureau of Land Management.
But after those efforts didn’t bear fruit, the trustees decided to put it up for sale on Feb. 2.
“Really, it was just time,” Staggenborg said. “We knew it wasn’t a situation that could last forever. It’s time for the land to be protected under new ownership who can better serve the public interest.”
The sale of Abiqua Falls
The sale of Abiqua Falls is being conducted in an “auction style format without a preset asking price or reserve, allowing the market to determine value,” Johnson said.
In other words, anyone can make an offer, and there’s no baseline price to use as a reference point. Johnson advised anyone interested to make an offer and submit it through a realtor — similar to the way you would buy a house.
“Parties wishing to make an offer may do so at any time using standard written offer documents and submitting them to the listing agent,” she said.
Johnson said that visits to the property could be arranged.
The sale is being carried out by Cushman and Wakefield Land Advisory Group and Horsepower Real Estate.
Johnson said there isn’t a specific timeline for getting the offers in, and that the Abbey Foundation would take its time to “do its due diligence” on each offer.
“The seller reserves the right to review, negotiate, and accept an offer at its discretion,” the Abby Foundation said.
Will public access to Abiqua Falls be maintained?
Staggenborg said that since word of the sale got out, she heard a lot of concern that a buyer could come in and close off access.
“That is not what we would like to see,” she said. “We are hoping for somebody to keep the property in its current state and continue the same sort of public access that we’ve allowed for over 100 years.”
However, there is no “conditional requirement” that the buyer keep it public.
“There’s no condition on the bid,” Staggenborg said. She added that the trustees would consider the monetary offer and a buyer’s plans in making a decision.
The property is zoned as forested, a designation “intended to preserve natural resources and limit intensive development,” the property listing says.
Staggenborg also stressed that Oregon has laws, known as recreational immunity, that prevent landowners from being sued when they open their land to recreation at no cost. Those laws were strengthened during the 2024 and 2025 legislative session.
Oregon agencies say they’re not interested
Whoever purchases the property will face some challenges. The site has difficult access issues including a rough road, ill-defined trail and wonky cables along the creek. Its massive popularity has meant plenty of people get lost and injured.
This past May, a 22-year-old Utah man was rescued after leaping off the falls. A few whitewater kayakers have also made news after plunging off the falls.
Public lands advocate Ryan Ernst said he hoped it would ultimately be a local or state agency that took over managing the property, if not eventually BLM, to ensure it stays public and maybe sees some improvements.
“My hope is that the state can find a way to acquire this special and unique place where the public can continue to find nature and themselves,” he said. “It would be a shame to see it fall into the hands of a private entity where access would be changed.”
But Oregon agencies don’t seem to be in a hurry to make a bid.
The Oregon Department of Forestry, which manages the nearby Santiam State Forest, said in a statement that it’s not looking to acquire new land. The Oregon Department of State Lands also said it won’t be pursuing purchase of Abiqua Falls because the property “would not likely be a strong investment for the Common School Fund.”
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, likewise, said it hadn’t had talks to purchase the waterfall.
Travis Williams, executive director of the Willamette River Preservation Trust, which is based in Scotts Mills near Abiqua Falls, said he’d talked to the Abbey about the property and was disappointed by their decision to put it up for sale.
He said a local land trust would be a good option to manage such a complex site, and that putting it up for sale in this way makes it seem like “it’s all about the money.”
“Whoever buys it is going to have to really care about that place and the local community – I think they could have handled this better,” he said. “And no matter what, whoever buys this is going to have to contend with the fact that people will be there no matter what.”
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social
Nonprofits serving every corner of Oregon — from domestic and sexual violence survivors in Yamhill County to Spanish-language radio listeners in the Columbia River Gorge and families rebuilding in Central Oregon — will share nearly $5.2 million in new grants from the Oregon Community Foundation.
In all, 258 grants will support organizations through several Oregon Community Foundation grant programs, with awards going to organizations serving all 36 Oregon counties. Most of the funding, $4.77 million, comes through the foundation’s Community Grants program and will go to 252 organizations.
“Oregon is full of people working hard to improve the lives of our neighbors across the state, and we’re grateful to our donors for sharing resources to support big ideas and smart solutions,” said Kim Koenig, director of community programs for Oregon Community Foundation.
Community Grants provide general operating support, a flexible funding source nonprofits can use for needs ranging from stabilizing staffing to strengthening programs or maintaining infrastructure. This cycle, the foundation prioritized organizations that have historically experienced underinvestment, including those serving small, rural communities and those that are culturally specific or culturally responsive. Nearly half of the grants went to organizations focused on economic vitality and livability.
Among the recipients is Row River Fire Response, which received a grant to protect residents of the 20-mile Row River Valley in Lane County.
“We started this work in 2022 with a goal of fire protection in the valley, and in 2024, the community came together to create a volunteer fire district,” said Kathleen Istudor, executive director. “Now in 2026, that effort continues to grow as we work to build a main fire station for our volunteers. Along the way, we have come to see how connected we are, not just to each other, but to the land, the watershed and the people beyond our valley.”
Yachats Youth & Family Activities Program will use its grant to support preschool, summer camp, afterschool activities and other programming for families on the North Coast.
“We try to keep tuition as low as possible so that we can ensure services to all families who walk through our doors,” said Kristina Anderson, executive director.
The Oregon Community Foundation also announced additional grantmaking across several focus areas:
Arts and culture: $250,000 to build arts sector infrastructure. In 2022, the foundation established a learning community for arts educators that led to the Oregon Arts Education Collective, a program connecting educators and advocates to cultivate a thriving arts ecosystem across the state. A grant will support the Collective as members develop infrastructure and build coalitions that advance arts and culture.
Arts and culture: $50,000 to preserve and inspire the field of architecture. A fund that advances professional development for design and building professionals will award a $50,000 fellowship through the Van Evera and Janet M. Bailey fund, supporting the Van Evera Baily Fellowship designed and administered by the Architecture Foundation of Oregon in partnership with the Oregon Community Foundation.
Economic vitality: $37,500 to support the sector and small businesses. The foundation said these grants will support nonprofits helping communities build and sustain strong local economies, including efforts to expand entrepreneurship, strengthen small businesses and increase access to opportunity.
Housing stability: $30,000 for homelessness response. These grants support research around best practices for organizations helping Oregonians stay housed and regain stability.
Several organizations highlighted in community stories described how grant support can help meet local needs.
Furnish Hope, based in Central Oregon, said it helps people restarting after unexpected and often traumatic events by furnishing homes with donated items.
“We believe that everybody needs a place to call home and that there are people all throughout our community that are working really hard to get back on their feet after something unexpected and oftentimes traumatic has happened,” said Megan Martin, founding executive director. “We’ve furnished over 3,000 homes in seven years. On average, we furnish 50 or more homes each month. Our vision is to see this region transformed by hope. And the vehicle that we use to bring hope to people is furniture.”
In Yamhill County, Henderson House said it provides confidential services for victims of domestic and sexual violence, including emergency shelter, advocacy and culturally relevant support for the Latinx population.
“We were founded and are currently led by survivors of domestic and sexual violence. We are the only domestic and sexual violence confidential victim services provider in Yamhill County,” said Fay Schuler, executive director.
In Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley Mentoring said it connects youth ages 9-24 with trained adult mentors through one-to-one relationships and mentoring circles.
“Our work makes a difference because it addresses a fundamental human need: connection,” said Laura Pinney, executive director.
The Oregon Community Foundation, founded in 1973, said it distributes more than $200 million in grants and scholarships statewide each year in partnership with donors and volunteers.
The foundation said individuals, families, businesses and organizations can work with OCF to create charitable funds supporting causes important to them.
More information is available here.
The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 3, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 3 drawing
1PM: 5-6-3-4
4PM: 2-7-6-0
7PM: 6-7-3-3
10PM: 4-0-2-5
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
- Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning has the program built up as a consistent contender, but Oregon’s previous two eliminations from the College Football Playoff, a 20-point loss to Ohio State followed by a 24-point loss to Indiana, adds some pressure onto Lanning’s plate heading into 2026.
While the Ducks’ only three losses in the past two seasons have come at the hands of the eventual national championship winner, Lanning and Oregon are perceived by some as a coach and team who can’t win when it matters the most.
Oregon fans may disagree, pointing to games in 2024 like the Ducks’ regular season win over Ohio State and the Big Ten Championship Game over Penn State. In 2025, Oregon beat Penn State and USC in the regular season before shutting out Texas Tech in the CFP.
However, the Ducks appearing non-competitive in their last games of the last two seasons only adds to the pressure for Oregon to perform in the postseason.
Dan Lanning on Oregon’s Progress in Spring Practice
After Oregon’s spring game on April 25, Lanning spoke about the positives and the negatives with respect to this current roster’s growth.
“Well, I think the intelligence of this group is really high. In the acumen and ability to execute offense and defensive plays is really up there. So they know and understand what we’re trying to do. We’ve got a lot of stuff packaged well that these guys can operate really well.”
“So, I’d say that part’s ahead. We become a much more connected team this spring that’s got to continue as we go through the remainder of this offseason. We got to get stronger. We got to continue to become the physical team that we’ve been here in the past, so there’s a lot of areas still for growth, but I think we’re a really smart team right now and understand what we want to accomplish.”
As mentioned by Lanning, there is still work to be done before the fall starts and even during the season as the Ducks aim to earn a third consecutive CFP berth.
Lanning always seems quick to call pressure a privelege, and the Ducks are quite privileged heading into 2026.
With a more experienced roster, highlighted by quarterback Dante Moore, center Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu, and Oregon’s four starters on the defensive line all deciding to forgo the 2026 NFL Draft and return to school, the expectations have only risen for the Ducks.
The Ducks may have one of the more talented rosters in the country, but the program is also replacing offensive coordinator Will Stein and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, whom Lanning replaced with internal promotions for Drew Mehringer (offensive coordinator) and Chris Hampton (defensive coordinator).
Oregon enters the season with the third-best odds of winning the Big Ten (+290) and the fourth-best odds of winning the national championship (+800), per oddsmakers at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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